Rosa, Ignez and Francisca

In the first half of the eighteenth century, Rosa, Ignez de Faria and Francisca were freed women who were targeted by the Inquisition in Minas Gerais. Their life stories are documented in the Livros das Devassas da Visita Inquisitorial (Books of the Inquisitorial Visit’s Inquest). Together with their partners – freed and free black men – they were accused of concubinage. It was said that they lived “amancebados” (in concubinage) or in “notorious scandal.”